Jump to content

New Campaign Idea - The Sixth World


Recommended Posts

So I have a crazy idea today while doing research on trying to do Conan with a BRP system, someone mentioned the idea of Elric being the First World, Conan the Second, Middle Earth the Third, I think... etc... and the idea of a Sixth World being the one after ours suffers it's cataclysm...

Then I thought about how I always wanted to do a game that was a mix of Den and Taarna from the Heavy Metal movie...

And now I am obsessed with this idea for the Sixth World!

Not really sure how to start... which BRP engine would work best for a mix of Fantasy and Sci-Fi set in a post apocalyptic Earth, hundreds of years, maybe even a thousand, after our own... I dunno... Still feeling it out.

Anyone got any suggestions on which version of BRP would suit this idea best?

Also, is there ANY sci-fi BRP out there?

BE HEROIC!

  • Like 2

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Visit the Zenith Comics Patreon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I never saw Heavy Metal so take my thoughts with a grain of salt…

First “The Chronicles of Future Earth” for BRP might be of interest though only the first book was published.

You might search the BRP Central site downloads section for “Conan”. I think you would find some helpful documents.

Also in the downloads section there is a guide to porting / running GDW’s 2300 AD, if you are in to hard sci-fi. 

There is also a useful, but incomplete guide to converting Traveller to BRP on this site -> 

 

@clarence is the author of M-Space, and I seem to remember him offering advice on running Traveller scenarios with M-Space, possibly on his company’s website Frostbyte Books (I think). Also somewhere on the web is a guide to converting “Pirates of Drinax”to  “M-Space”.

There have been quite a few sci-fi BRP products. You can find a badly out of date list here -> 

Off the top of my head I would note that Worlds Beyond is now available; BRP Space is now titled “M-Space (and besides being awesome, there are supplements available); and Quasar (which has supplements also) and Bound to None are new entrants and there are likely others.

Good luck!

  • Like 2

Check out our homebrew rules for freeform magic in BRP ->

No reason for Ars Magica players to have all the fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the OP really wants post-apocalyptic science-fantasy.
Thundarr the Barbarian, a bit of He-Man / She-Ra; Bakshi's Wizards.

Gamma World (there  have been several partial conversions, I think you can find some digging around the BRPC archives & web-searching via Google).

  • Like 1

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/25/2024 at 3:41 AM, Zenith Comics Presents... said:

So I have a crazy idea today while doing research on trying to do Conan with a BRP system, someone mentioned the idea of Elric being the First World, Conan the Second, Middle Earth the Third, I think... etc... and the idea of a Sixth World being the one after ours suffers it's cataclysm...

Then I thought about how I always wanted to do a game that was a mix of Den and Taarna from the Heavy Metal movie...

And now I am obsessed with this idea for the Sixth World!

Not really sure how to start... which BRP engine would work best for a mix of Fantasy and Sci-Fi set in a post apocalyptic Earth, hundreds of years, maybe even a thousand, after our own... I dunno... Still feeling it out.

Anyone got any suggestions on which version of BRP would suit this idea best?

Also, is there ANY sci-fi BRP out there?

BE HEROIC!

River of Heaven, M-Space, Bound to None, Quasar are all currently in print / available. The first is OpenQuest based, the second Mythras, the latter two BRP:UGE. There have been a bunch of historical SF BRP games and monographs now unavailable (Ringworld, Cthulhu Rising, Other Suns). The monographs Fractured Hopes and Swords of Cydoria would be good fits, if you could get copies, and were built on the BRP:BGB…

…which is a round about way of saying the BRP:UGE has much if not all you need, and can easily tuned to the tone and feel you want.

Edited by NickMiddleton
typo
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, g33k said:

Gamma World (there  have been several partial conversions, I think you can find some digging around the BRPC archives & web-searching via Google).

Rubble and Ruin, which started as a BRP product and migrated to Mythras:  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/354244/rubble-and-ruin
It's quite recognisably Gamma World but less gonzo than most iterations.

There are also a couple of versions of Moorcock's Hawkmoon out there, if Thundarr is a little too cartoony (I'd love to play in the road at that intersection!), though they may not be easy to find.

!i!

  • Like 2

carbon copy logo smallest.jpg  ...developer of White Rabbit Green

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd suggest Strombringer for the game system.

My resoning is that it is the ruleset that was designed for a multiverse campaign. And the aforementioned Hawkmoon RPG was a Strombringer spinoff (same game mechanics, differernt setting)is a post-apocalyptic setting that would give you a good base for your Sixth Word. Anything it dosn't have you could swipe from the BGB or elsewhere.

FYI. in case you didn't know the  Hawkmoon series takes place in the distant future ("Tragic Millennium") some time after what might have been World War III , in a feudal Europe where Granbreatan (Great Britain) has gone on a war of conquest, helped in part by their having some advanced tech. It's mostly a medieval setting with bits of advanced (better than modern) tech. THe story doesn't really get into the details of how socuety fell, as it happened a long time ago. You can reconstruct some things from place names and such, but most of it is ancient long forgotten history about distance places that nobody really cares about anymore. 

  • Like 2

Chaos stalks my world, but she's a big girl and can take of herself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a link that might be helpful. See 

 

Also, there was the Morrow Project? Wasn’t there a BRP version? Sorry, I don’t know anything about it.

 

  • Like 3

Check out our homebrew rules for freeform magic in BRP ->

No reason for Ars Magica players to have all the fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Swords of Cydoria is a nice science-fantasy setting set in the very distant future Earth(?). It was released as a BRP Monograph, but then later as a separate game Exiled in Eris: Sword & Blaster Fantasy RPG. It's still available in the latter form. I've run a campaign with it and would happily return there if my players are willing.

Here's the summary for BRU:GE (well, BRP) from its creator on this site:

Quote

Description of the Setting: Swords and Lasers, Monsters and Robots. It's Sword and Sorcery meets Steampunk. Flash Gordon + John Carter + Thundarr + Last Exile + Firefly + Star Wars.

 

For more obscure references, it's Storm (the old Belgian graphic novels) + Tales of the Ketty Jay + Tschai: Planet of Adventure + The Knights of Cydonia video by Muse.

 

It's set on Earth in the far future (25,000 years). Or is it set on an alternate Earth? Or is it set on a parallel Earth somewhere out in the Galaxy? I'm intentionally not very clear about that.

 

Twenty years ago, the City-States of Cydoria were just about at a tech level equivalent to that of 1900 or so, though still heavily in a sword-and-sorcery style culture. Then one of they city-states made contact with advanced aliens and made a deal to get futuristic weaponry. They used these weapons to conquer the other City-States. They have now formed an evil empire. I provide several campaigns in the book ranging from treasure-seeking adventurers to rebels against the Vrildarian Empire.

 
 

 

Edited by Questbird
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say it depends on how much fantasy and how much post-apocalypse you want it to be. For post-apoc, you have fewer alternatives. Combining fantasy and sci-fi is probably easier and there are more to choose from.

The main rules in M-SPACE are identical to Mythras Imperative, with no conversions needed. Even skills are the same. If you want to add things from other genres, there are quite a few sourcebooks for Mythras as well. So, with M-SPACE you can pull in rules and resources from other settings without any trouble. But there’s not a go to book for your setting.

BRP might get you closer, but I haven’t kept tabs for a while. A third option would be to grab rules and resources from any of the d100 games, allowing you to really fine tune the setting as you develop it. 

Looking forward to hearing how your world takes shape. 

  • Like 1

1683589267_frostbyteloggaFsvarttiny2.jpg.22ebd7480630737e74be9c2c9ed8039f.jpg   FrostByte Books

M–SPACE   d100 Roleplaying in the Far Future

Odd Soot  Science Fiction Mystery in the 1920s

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/26/2024 at 5:11 PM, tobarstep said:

There was a fan-made, post-apoc fantasy setting for Magic World posted here many years back called "In the Quiet Lands".  It's pretty much just straight MW rules, but you could get some inspiration from the setting.

 

 

Hmmm.  The provided link is b0rked.

Dunno if the author/OP withdrew the PDF, or if de-linking happened  en passant  of some post-2015 site-reorg, or if a version is sitting in the "BRP Design Challenge" queue, or ... ?

Looks interesting, I wish I could get a copy!
@Marcus Bone ???

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, g33k said:

Hmmm.  The provided link is b0rked.

Dunno if the author/OP withdrew the PDF, or if de-linking happened  en passant  of some post-2015 site-reorg, or if a version is sitting in the "BRP Design Challenge" queue, or ... ?

Looks interesting, I wish I could get a copy!
@Marcus Bone ???

@g33k the link worked earlier and I downloaded the document. PM me your email address and I will send it over. Note it will probably be tomorrow though.

Check out our homebrew rules for freeform magic in BRP ->

No reason for Ars Magica players to have all the fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/29/2024 at 4:48 AM, g33k said:

Hmmm.  The provided link is b0rked.

Dunno if the author/OP withdrew the PDF, or if de-linking happened  en passant  of some post-2015 site-reorg, or if a version is sitting in the "BRP Design Challenge" queue, or ... ?

Looks interesting, I wish I could get a copy!
@Marcus Bone ???

Just following up - did you get a copy? The link definitely isn't working - and no I didn't submit it to the BRP setting contest 😛

 

Stormbringer! - Exploring the worlds of the Eternal Champion at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com

Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org

DCtRPG.info - Supporting Dark Conspiracy across the decades - http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Zenith Comics Presents... said:

I never did no, the dead link and all.

Well I found the original Word doc (and a few edits and additions I made post release). I have to say that this game has probably been superceded by the fantastic Symborum rpg - which treads much of the same ground but with a lot more quality than I could ever bring to bear!  

  • Like 1

Stormbringer! - Exploring the worlds of the Eternal Champion at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com

Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org

DCtRPG.info - Supporting Dark Conspiracy across the decades - http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Marcus Bone said:

Just following up - did you get a copy? The link definitely isn't working - and no I didn't submit it to the BRP setting contest 😛

 

Thank you for following up!

No, I never got a copy.
😞

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Marcus Bone said:

Well I found the original Word doc (and a few edits and additions I made post release). I have to say that this game has probably been superceded by the fantastic Symborum rpg - which treads much of the same ground but with a lot more quality than I could ever bring to bear!  

Honestly, I think a MW-engined game fills a niche that Symbaroum does not (even if the settings have similarities).

I hope you continue to develop it, and even bring it out under the ORC license!  Chaosium made public a lot of design &c info/advice, as part of the Design Challenge.

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/24/2024 at 7:41 PM, Zenith Comics Presents... said:

So I have a crazy idea today while doing research on trying to do Conan with a BRP system, someone mentioned the idea of Elric being the First World, Conan the Second, Middle Earth the Third, I think... etc... and the idea of a Sixth World being the one after ours suffers it's cataclysm...

...

n.b. the science-fantasy cyberpunk game "Shadowrun" has long used the near-future "Sixth World" (now technically alt-future, as it began diverging in 2012 iirc) as their setting.

C'es ne pas un .sig

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...